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Want to be a Wimbledon ballboy?
Brian Chalmers joins local schoolkids training for this year's championships
Even before a single tennis ball has been rolled, I look distinctly out of place in the warm-up. (0) . But mostly because these teenagers show no visible signs of exhaustion, whereas I'm completely sweaty, out of breath and weak at the knee. In my defence, this is a well-drilled squad of super-teens. (19) . Almost all of them will be ballboys and ballgirls - or BBGs - at this week's Wimbledon championships.
I am here at the All England Club to find out what it takes to be a BBG. My guide is the club's BBG manager Sarah Goldson. "They start training in February," she says, "and they come to one session a week for two and a half hours. They need fitness, discipline, and a knowledge of tennis and coordination skills for the high-speed game." (20) . Then the trainees must stand stock-still in the classic courtside pose - feet apart, legs straight and hands clasped behind the back - for three minutes.
Next, in the early weeks, come ball-skills exercises and scoring and set-piece practice, under constant assessment. Trainees must use precise techniques for rolling, feeding and receiving balls. (21) . They must learn to judge from the score which end the balls should be at, how to march out on to court in file, what to do at a tie-break and when new balls are needed, and how to behave when play is suspended.
After a few weeks' practice, they sit written multiple-choice exams (sample question: "If the centre has a ball at the end of the point, what should he/she do first?"). (22) However, they remain under the watchful eye of the staff, and are still not guaranteed a place in the final selection. "They're assessed all the time," says Goldson, "including every day of the championships."
Goldson points out that the club staff's assessments just add to the stress once the competition is under way. (23) . Fail to spot that a point is still ongoing and a careless BBG can soon become the centre of attention, as one ballboy learned at last year's French Open, when he interrupted a point between Murray and Troicki. More than half a million people have now watched a video of the incident.
No matter how well prepared you are, high-speed shots and serves are an inescapable occupational hazard. Former ballgirl turned senior instructor Hayley Theobald knows all about that. (24) "I'm sure every BBG can tell you that story," she says, "You just hear the crowd go 'Ooh'."
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